‘Grenade’ thrown in Delft as communities at war with each other

Violence related to the taxi industry on the Cape Flats continues to escalate and claim lives.

There are reports that communities have been fighting in the Delft area of Cape Town on Monday, and that a grenade was even thrown amid shooting.

Taxi violence in the area had already claimed as many as six lives by Monday morning, with two taxi owners shot and killed and two others injured during a shooting at the Eindhoven taxi rank in Delft-South.

Last month, three taxi drivers were shot and killed when four gunmen opened fire moments before the vans were to leave for a long-distance trip.

The police have attempted to increase police visibility around the taxi rank and on all routes, but the violence appears to only have escalated.

On Monday night, law enforcement was monitoring Delft, where there have been violent protests related to the taxi industry.

Earlier on Monday, demonstrators burned tyres and blocked roads in the area while taxis have been in aÂ dispute over taxi routes.

The city’s Wayne Dyason said: â€œCurrently the situation is quiet. There is a group of taxi drivers gathered in the main road in Delft. There were gunshots reported earlier in the area of the clinic but itâ€™s unclear if it was related to the taxi violence.â€

Over the past few weeks, at least six people have been killed or wounded in the taxi-related conflict in Cape Town.

Frustrated residents in the area have been unable to use taxis, with the rank closed, and buses were also not available due to the more than three-week strike that only came to an end today.

Reports suggest that Cape Town’s gangsters are involved in the violence and have even opened fire on police.

Watch the video below of “massive violence” on the R300 between coloured and black communities, which one Twitter account advised people to take care on.

They said they should avoid Delft at all costs, as it has been very volatile.

Photographs have emerged of people having been shot, though it was not immediately clear how many more casualties there have been.

People on the ground have characterised the conflict as fighting between “black and white communities”.